Race for Yes Car heating up

Saturday 18 May 2002 23:00 BST

ONE of Britain's biggest car loan firms, Yes Car Credit, will this week enter exclusive talks with a bidder prepared to pay as much as £175m for the business.

Yes Car Credit, which has been running a high-profile TV advertising campaign, is expected to be sold to a European trade buyer or venture capitalist firm. Lexicon Partners, the niche investment bank understood to be handling the sale, has narrowed the bidding down to two serious contenders.

Yes Car Credit specialises in lending to people with poor credit records. It is expected to make about £27m in pretax profits this year on turnover of £200m.